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This is the 1/144 MInicraft DC-8-63 kit modified to into a DC-8-55F by shortening the fuselage and using JTD-3B engines from an old Welsh Models kit.
The original aircraft was purchased by Affretair (Rhodesia) in 1972 from Seaboard World Airlines but registered as TR-LQR in Gabon. In 1977, it was repainted in the colours of CargOman and re-registered as A40-PA in Oman as a flag of convenience. This effectively allowed the aircraft to continue being used on sanctions-busting flights from Salisbury to Libreville (Gabon), Muscat (Oman) and various points in Europe. Flights in and out of Rhodesia normally took place in the dark of the night and the aircraft was usually kept well out of sight, behind the Affretair hangar.
In 1982, it officially reverted back to Affretair (Zimbabwe) ownership and re-registered first as VP-WMJ and then as Z-WMJ . It was eventually sold to Trans Air Cargo Service in 1997 and was scrapped in Kinshasa in 2005 after suffering an engine failure during landing.
The decals are home-made.
There's a sort of build in progress thread and a couple of additional photos here : http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234937676-minicraft-douglas-dc-8s-in-1144-one-down/ (I'm afraid it's all a bit messy, as I'm trying to build three DC-8s at the same time - not the brightest thing I've ever attempted !)
Hope you like it.
mike

Plasticart's interpretation,thats all I can call it, of the famous DC-8 was by far the worst kit I had/build so far from that manufacturer.
Totally wrong noseshape,cabin windows much lower on one side of the fuselage than at the other,twisted parts...and so on,this one gave me more than once nightmares.It's on par qualitywise with Heller's DC-8 kit that I built some time ago.
More than a year in the making,I finally got it finished.
Most of the work went into the correction of the nose,to get it as accurate as possible.I reshaped the whole cockpit area,flattened and widened the "witch-nose",sanded it back as it was also too long and rescribed the air-intakes..
I rescribed also some panel-lines and flaps on the wings
The rest of the look was created with decals.
As the model looked very poor on its landing gear,I decided to make an inflight model,somehow like one of those from travel agencies.
The display stand was obtained from a Revell 747
Panagra was a joint venture between Pan American World Airways and Grace Shipping company and was formed in 1929 and operated throughout South America until it merged with Braniff International in 1967.
I found the livery quite appealing so I ordered this decal set from F-DCAL.
It matched on the kit with only little adjustments.
Hope you like it,
Cheers

Douglas DC-8-62
1/144 Minicraft (converted), Lima November decals.
After the VC-10, the next best looking airliner is the Douglas DC-8, and the best looking of those are the shorter fuselage versions. The Minicraft DC-8 series of kits are amongst the very best airliner kits you can get, they are beautifully moulded, accurate, and have flawless fit. It's a funny thing about the Minicraft range, all the Douglas aircraft are really good, and all the Boeing ones are... well, I don't buy them. This is the 'Hawiian Air' DC-8-63 boxing, with the fuselage cut down to convert it to the shorter -62. Very helpfully the kit has engraved cut lines inside the fuselage to show you where to cut. Other than that, the construction is pretty much straight out of the box. The wings and tailplanes are such a good fit I haven't even bothered to glue them in. They just fit nice and snug on their own. I've used multiple shades of Alclad on the metal areas, and Halfords appliance white on the fuselage top. The Lima November decals come in the Longboat scheme for the versions of the DC-8 that SAS used, the 55, 62, 63, and Freighters. A huge number of fleet names & reg's are provided, along with enough cheat line for the longest, that you may need to cut down for your chosen version. That's what came out of the fuselage fore and aft of the wing; And finally, the 'With something esle' shot. This time the Airfix Caravelle generously given to me when I couldn't find one, by that true gent, Martin Hale, and finished in 26 deacls SAS scheme. Thanks for looking, John
[EDIT] 11/08/2014
Wow, thanks for all the kind comments folks, it is very much appreciated. I thought airliners were very much a minority interest
Thanks, Gary I can do one of those. The DC-9 & decals are in the stash waiting its turn, and the Viscount is planned, but I have this one;
And then it's predecessor, the DC-7C
[/EDIT]
Thanks again everyone.

Well, my long term relationship with the DC-8 family has finally come to an end with my Zambia Airways DC-8-71. (Special thanks to Keefr22 for letting me have the engines on the never-return basis - now I've just got to convince him to let me have his unwanted C-17 on the same loan scheme .)
Markings came from 26Decals sheet 144-145.
and here's the whole "Famn Damily" built over the last year and a half :
(Apologies for the quality of the photos - seasonal disorder struck big time with the lighting !)
Thanks for looking.
mike

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Ruben Husberg can consider himself to be well and truly flattered ! http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/18440-air-afrique-dc-8-63-1144/?hl=afrique
I've always liked Air Afrique's colour scheme and Ruben's build in 2008 was an absolute corker - so much so, that I hadn't actually planned on trying to build my own. Thankfully, a right stuff up with the paintwork on my original Zambia Airways DC-8 lead me to a tough decision - either bin the kit or strip the paintwork down to the plastic and have another go with a different scheme....!
Stripping the paint won the day (although it was a close call), so here's my take on TU-TCF : Air Afrique's DC-8-63F (1/144 kit by MInicraft and decals by 26Decals)
As for the Zambia Airways DC-8, well I ended up buying another kit anyway, and as my comparison shot, here's a "Tale of Two Tails............"
(I'm hoping the Zambian 8 will land in RFI in the next week or two.)
Thanks for looking.
mike

December 1973, and I made my very first flight in a four-engined jet from Johannesburg to Rome - Alitalia's DC-8-43 I-DIWM "Ugolino Vivaldi"
This is the 1/144 MInicraft DC-8-63 kit modified to into a DC-8-43 by shortening the fuselage and using replacement resin engines from F-Rsin. (I know they're actually engines for a DC-8-30, but they look close enough for me, and besides, sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do)
Fitting the engines to the wings was most unpleasant - you'd think I would have learned my lesson from the DC-8-55 build !
The Registration Codes, engine logos and "Ugolino Vivaldi" titles are home-made. The rest of the decals came from the Two Six Decals Sheet SHS4485 and lovely they were too !
There's a sort of Work in Progress thread which can be found here : http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234937676-minicraft-douglas-dc-8s-in-1144-two-down/ but because I've been building three 8s at the same time, it's all a bit messy.
So there we have it. I'm pretty sure that if you use your imagination, you'll be able to see the face of a 10 year old pressed against one of the windows with excitement - that would be me.
Thanks for looking.
mike

Back in July 2010, I started designing some decals for the CargOman Douglas DC-8 on this very web-site.
While scratching through my lap-top recently, I stumbled on the unfinished design and with the re-release of the Minicraft DC-8, I figured out that it would be rude not to have a go at building one. Unfortunately, I deliberately ordered two of the blighters and then "accidentally" ordered a set of Ray's excellent Air Zaire decals as well (if you get my drift) !!!
So here we have it :
DC-8-63 of Air Zaire, DC-8-55 of CargOman and a DC-8-43 of another airline (Couldn't stop myself from ordering another Minicraft kit - they look brilliant !)
So while I'm waiting for the resin engines to arrive, time to cut up the fuselages :
DC-8-63 on top, fuselage cuts made (to make a DC-8-55) in the middle, and one I already glued together to make a DC-8-43 at the bottom.
This is going to be madness (and slow)......
Wish me luck.